Urban Lexicons - unravelling the signs and details that make us love or loath everyday urban spaces. by marcus willcocks

Unravelling the urban lexicons of our everyday environments A project by Rosanna Vitiello and Marcus Willcocks funded by the Bright Sparks programme at Gunpowder Park

Why do we instantly fall in love with some places...

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

...while others make us want to get straight out of there? Could it be down to the details in these urban environments?

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

This project begins to decipher how details in our city environments affect our perceptions of a place. Through street workshops, interviews, and visual research we start to unravel an urban lexicon of signs and details that make us love or loath our urban spaces.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Published and printed by Lulu Photography: by permission of the workshop participants and the authors ISBN: 978-0-89207-406-8

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Contents 06

Part One | Project Overview

What do we mean by details? What is an urban lexicon?

How did we unravel an urban lexicon?

Unravelling the Urban Lexicon: Identifying signs

Learning from our spaces

Commercial

Greenspace

Residential

Transport

Part Two | Signs of Urban Lexicons

Character / Blandness

114

Life / Lifelessness

140

Welcome / Exclusion

164

Security / Fear

194

Love / Neglect

232

What can we learn from unravelling an urban lexicon?

236

Appendix

239

Briefing Tools

243

Maps and Response Forms

250

Further Information

250

About the authors

251

Acknowledgements Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Part one

Project Overview Part one of this report captures the essence and workings of the Urban Lexicons project. It outlines our aims and methodologies, and summarises our learning.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

What do we mean by details? What is an urban lexicon? People read meaning into certain elements in their public spaces: a broken window, a planted flower, a lone glove, or a graffiti tag to name a few. Although these may appear as disparate details, we suggest that they subconsciously combine to create a lexicon, or vocabulary, that triggers specific emotional responses. To use the metaphor of language, details are like words. As sentences make meaning from words, so urban details combine to give people particular feelings or interpretations of a space. Together they form an urban lexicon.

“ Every city shares roads, cars, crowds and buildings in common. What differentiates one place from another are the details that define them; the ‘clothes’ each place is dressed in.” Vitiello and Willcocks, 2006 Journal of Place Branding, 3-2 Palgrave

The Difference is in the Detail The origins of this project lie in a paper we wrote entitled, ‘The Difference is in the Detail. The potential of detail as a place branding tool and its impact upon our perceptions and responses.’ This project gave us the chance to delve deeper into how people really react to details in their city.

THE DIFFERENCE IS IN THE DETAIL Rosanna Vitiello & Marcus Willcocks

Originally published in Place Branding, Issue 3, Volume 2

THE DIFFERENCE IS IN THE DETAIL the potential of detail as a place branding tool and its impact upon our perceptions and responses.

Rosanna Vitiello & Marcus Willcocks

What DO WE MEAN BY details? What is aN URBAN Lexicon?

How would you feel here? Why?

What DO WE MEAN BY details? What is aN URBAN Lexicon?

... or how about here?

Urban details We read meaning into urban details. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just the elements that are planned or designed into our cities that impact how we feel about them, but also informal or unanticipated appropriations; a handpainted sign or a graffiti-covered wall. And details arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just visual. We pick up on smells, sounds and textures too.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

What DO WE MEAN BY details? What is aN URBAN Lexicon?

Urban Lexicon “ Social Norms: public spaces are regulated through unwritten social codes where subtle rules, signs and symbols convey whom a particular space is for and what behavior is permissible.” DEMOS/ Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2005 Each urban context projects its own alphabet of details – its Urban Lexicon. Our interpretation of these details combines to create a personal vocabulary of the city. Each individual’s experience of urban environments is different, and therefore impacts the way they understand their surroundings. Although everyone builds their personal urban lexicon, we believe common interpretations do exist.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

What DO WE MEAN BY details? What is aN URBAN Lexicon?

“ We never look at cities [in terms of] emotion and lived experience, and that’s important. When you go into the city is it saying yes or is it saying no? Asphalt for example says no.” Charles Landry, 2006 hat are the details that stimulate these instinctive ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses W that we make? Does this scene say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to you? The very details that attract some people are repulsive to others. One person’s ‘yes’ place is another’s ‘no’ place. But is there any common ground? We have found there are shared perceptions, even between diverse responses. This project highlights the frequent presence of differential attention. In other words, when people respond differently to a place, or even a small element within, it is often because they have focussed more on some details than others.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

yes no

yes no 21

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Unravelling the Urban Lexicon: Identifying signs We’ve established that not everyone looks at the world in the same way, but there are some recurring themes in how we feel about our urban environments. These themes are defined by combinations of details. We call these combinations ‘signs’ of a places’ identity and believe they form our urban lexicon. Drawing on the analysis of the street workshops, we can group common threads from our participants’ responses into five types of signs...

Signs of ... Character / Blandness Life / Lifelessness Welcome / Exclusion Security / Fear Love / Neglect

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

UNRAVELLING THE URBAN LEXICON IDENTIFYING SIGNS

Love

Signs that make us love a place because they show someone else has loved it first! People picked up on personal effort, thought, time and care as positive.

Love

UNRAVELLING THE URBAN LEXICON IDENTIFYING SIGNS

Character

Signs of uniqueness create places with soul. A sense of history, tradition or local context; a clue towards the people who live in that area. Memorable places that people reacted well to showed distinct signs of character.

Love

UNRAVELLING THE URBAN LEXICON IDENTIFYING SIGNS

Security

Signs of uniqueness create places with soul.

Love

Terms such as decay, deterioration and depression have been used in response to some of the urban signals. In certain cases, attempts to increase security or create defensible space have impacted to reduce the emotional security felt by the passerby. Conversely, spaces which built in trusting signs are perceived as more secure and command respect.

UNRAVELLING THE URBAN LEXICON IDENTIFYING SIGNS

Welcome

Signs that encourage active rather than passive human engagement. Welcoming features can encourage participation and physical and emotional involvement in a place.

Love

UNRAVELLING THE URBAN LEXICON IDENTIFYING SIGNS

Life

Signs of uniqueness create places with soul. Evidence of people, community, diversity buzz and activity. Participants, without prompt, repeatedly introduced the term â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as something that can be perceived through environmental details.

Love

UNRAVELLING THE URBAN LEXICON IDENTIFYING SIGNS

These are not strictly defined categories, rather a pool of perceptions and responses. The signs are drawn directly from our participant’s interviews, during which they highlighted words such as ‘life’, ‘love’, ‘care’, ‘fear’, ‘character’, ‘welcome’ etc. In grouping our participant’s feedback we’ve acknowledged a level of crossover between each of the signs. A place full of life was often perceived as safer, more welcoming and better loved by the community.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Signs of life, love, welcome, security and character are all indicative of a place that is used and treated well by others. We’ve honed our urban vocabulary to pick up on human presence, above all on the presence of individuals. Places that featured informal and undesigned details, often promoted more understanding, local engagement and use of a place than ‘top down’ spaces created through rigidly defined detailing. The personal touch, a sense of individuality — call it what you will — we identify with these signs of society and humanity.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

How did we unravel an urban lexicon? Project Method Firstly, we spent time defining the scope of our research; consulting advisors and undertaking trials to shape our methodology; compiling a team of volunteers to give feedback, defining types of spaces to research, and scouring London for sites. Secondly, we ran street workshops and interviews with our volunteers to gauge their reaction to four London environments. Finally, an analysis of over 250 insights enabled us to spot patterns in peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responses.

1. Defining the scope of our research The aim of the first stage of the project was to frame a clear direction for the investigation and develop a methodology. During this phase we also conducted site scoping visits and trial run tours to prepare for the street workshops. We set up a research blog to act as a running archive of our learning and process during these first stages. Additionally we used online image management and Google mapping to locate and archive our spatial scoping visits and trial run tours. You can access these resources via http://www.urbanlexicon.blogspot.com.

Our research efforts involved us working visually and experimentally, as well as feeding from more traditional data, literature and dialogue. It was important to extract and share our learning visually and graphically as well as via more traditional text based outputs. In this way we believe the material can be quicker to understand, easier to refer to and carry greater value for more people. Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

How did we unravel an urban lexicon?

People A broad cross section of volunteers to took part in our street workshops and gave generously of their time. Each with different occupations and interests, some with a professional understanding of the built environment. Others with local knowledge of a particular site and some who were totally new to places we visited. We wanted to ensure a good span of responses, and to be sure that any patterns we found couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be attributed to demographic similarities. Additionally, we werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t interested in statistics and drew from very personal feedback. We conducted in-depth interviews with this core group of participants to get under the skin of their urban lexicon. In presenting our results, we aim to maintain the integrity of their words and pictures. The collaboration, responses and contribution of these people became the definitive core to all we have learned through this project.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Alex grew up and now lives in South London

Tom grew up and now lives in North London

Marta is visiting London from her home in Spain

Mark commutes from the Home Counties daily

Perla recently moved to London for work

Steve commutes daily from South West London

Stefan works in Covent Garden

Adrian grew up and now lives in North London

Jon recently moved to London from Manchester

Caroline studies and lives in East London

Simon studies and lives in North London

Sam lives in North London and works in Covent Garden

Luciano lives in East London an works in Soho

Kathy lives in East London and works in the City

Charlotte lives in Southern England and visits London regularly

Andi lives and works in London

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

How did we unravel an urban lexicon?

Spaces Early on in the project we categorised the types of urban environments we wanted to look at. We defined the following four space-types as representative of typical spaces you might encounter in any town or city.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Greenspace Pocket parks, community gardens, town commons, playing fields

Residential Tower blocks,

Transport Interchange

Commercial Street markets, local high streets, city-centre shopping hubs, out-of-town retail parks

Bus, tube and rail stations, busy crossroads, fly-overs

lo-rise social housing, conservation areas, cul-de-sacs and inner city mews

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Muswe

How did we unravel an urban lexicon?

Places

Golder’s Green

HOLLO We scoped out different areas in London to establish four distinct research locations. Although our wider interest is to understand peoples’ responses to urban details in any city, for feasibility, we focused this first study in London. Given the city’s diverse nature, we chose distinct locations, each of which each hosted greenspace, transport, commercial and residential spaces. We connected these to create a ‘walking tour’ within each area. Between these sixteen sites and the spaces that linked them, we were able to represent extremes of the urban environment. The four areas selected were: Tottenham Court Road/ Covent Garden (W1/ WC2); Holloway Road/ Archway (N7/ N19); Tottenham Hale (N17) and Edgeware Road (NW1/ W2).

Highgate

Camden Kilburn

EDGEWARE ROAD

TOTTENHAM West End

Kensington

Hammersmith

42 Chelsea

uswell Hill

Walthamstow

TOTTENHAM HALE

Stamford Hill

OLLOWAY ROAD / ARCHWAY

Highbury

Hackney

mden

Islington

Bethnall Green Bow

Clerkenwell

HAM COURT ROAD / COVENT GARDEN End

Stepney City of London

Soho

Westminster Waterloo

Southwark

Lambeth

Elephant & Castle

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

How did we unravel an urban lexicon?

Tottenham Court Road and Covent Garden W1 Westminster / WC2 Camden The most central of the four locations. By nature, it is the most commercially active. Monmouth Street, Neal’s Yard and Short’s Gardens are home to a predominance of clothing and accessories shops, punctuated by coffee shops, restaurants and bars. Monmouth Street and Short’s Gardens make up two of Covent Garden’s well known Seven Dials, yet they differ from each other in character, partly owing to the ‘gentrification’ of Monmouth Street over recent years. Neal’s Yard is a small, colourful space somewhat hidden between Monmouth Street and Short’s Gardens, popular among those who love its secluded nature, and passed by others who may not even know that it is there. Phoenix Gardens is a small and little known community-run garden near the heart of London’s West End, located between Denmark Street/St. Giles Church and Seven Dials/Shaftesbury Avenue. It is managed by volunteers and open to the public 365 days a year, from 8.30am until dusk. 1

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Tottenham Court Road Station is one of London’s busiest and most central stations, serving two Underground lines with four streetexits, plus buses and taxis around the densely packed junction above, where Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Street, Charing Cross Road and New Oxford Street meet. (note - this site has been under redevelopment since the Urban Lexicons street-workshops were run in 2008). Coalville Place is a pedestrianised residential mews of Georgian town houses tucked little more than a minute’s walk from Goodge Street station and Tottenham Court Road. There are public gardens on one side of this quiet street, and planters and hanging baskets lining most of the house frontages on the other side. 1. www.thephoenixgarden.ik.com

TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD & COVENT GARDEN

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

How did we unravel an urban lexicon?

Holloway Road/ Archway N7/ N19, Islington Holloway Road is one of London’s major arteries, leading North from Highbury and Islington, to the junction at Archway station. Here traffic connects with other main roads, and links with M1 and M25 motorways in, and out of the city. Archway station sits under the 1963 Archway Tower, at the junction of Holloway Road, Junction Road, Highgate Hill and Archway Hill. It provides connection to the Northern line Tube trains as well as approximately fifteen London bus routes. Holloway Road serves Archway’s community with its commercial parade located between the tube station and just beyond Whittington Park. The venues straddling this major highway provide a wide mix of shops, amenities and food and drink outlets to locals. Most of the buildings are Victorian properties, with varying levels of restoration and some premises unoccupied at the time of the study.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Whittington Park is located South-West of Upper Holloway Rail Station and is accessible directly from Holloway Road. The ten acre site offers a diversity of areas, aimed to suit different users and age groups; a sports field, games area, children’s play area, conservation site and enclosed dog exercise run, as well as grassed spaces with a diversity of plants and trees, and a community centre on one side of the site. Tavistock Terrace is part of a small conservation zone of period (largely Victorian) residential streets. Islington Council has issued guidance for owners and residents to look after their properties in accordance with the conservation style. 1 1. For more information see http://www.islington. gov.uk/DownloadableDocuments/Environment/ Pdf/conservation_2010/conservation_area_ leaflets/ca_24_mercers_road_tavistock_terrace_ leaflet.pdf

HOLLOWAY ROAD & ARCHWAY

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

How did we unravel an urban lexicon?

Tottenham Hale N15, N17, Haringey Tottenham Hale’s name is said to originate from the area’s past as a stopping or ‘hailing’ point for goods loaded and unloaded between road and river. Our street workshops in Tottenham focussed on the area between Tottenham Hale and Seven Sisters transport interchanges. As in many areas of London, the demographic is widely mixed. Notably (though not exclusively) there are established communities of Afro, Caribbean, Asian and Chinese residents, as well as White-British families and other ethnicities who have lived in the locality for generations. Tottenham Hale station connects local buses, London’s Underground network and mainline trains from Liverpool Street, Stanstead and beyond. The station is located between the Walthamstow Reservoirs to the East, and the area’s retail centre, to the West and fed by the large roads A503 and A1055. The station has been rebuilt several times, recently in the 1990’s. Hale Gardens is a residential cul-de -sac, part of a network of residential streets between Tottenham Hale and Seven Sisters station, bordered by commercial outlets around the busy 48

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

A10 ‘High Road’. Central to the Hale Gardens is a nine-storey local authority block, surrounded by three-, four- and five-storey local authority and private properties. One ‘period’ building remains adjacent to the tower, and opposite is small row of shops, some unoccupied at the time of the study. Tottenham Green is split into two. The main part of this space is an open triangular-shaped grassed area. Almost completely unfenced at its perimeter, it is demarked by the ‘High Road’ on its east-side and two tributary roads to the northern- and western-sides. A smaller, hedged and fenced part of the green is located on the opposite side of the High Road, containing more landscaping detail and a greater density of benches. West Green Road is a densely packed active, commercial street. The road feeds perpendicular from the A10 High Road near Seven Sister’s station and is lined mainly by Victorian properties and some newer builds, most of which have modern retail frontages. The outlets are typically independent or small chains and cater to a range of local clientèle. A number of them are targeted specifically towards AfroCarribean customers in the area.

ay tW

High Cross Road

p p ro H a ll A a ch Rd

SHOPPIN G CENTRE

Ant ill Rd

Springfield

Tyn em ou th

Tottenham Hale Station

W Green Road Shops

d Antill R

Talb ot Rd

H ig h

Road

Tyn em ou th

Ferry Lane

e Rd

Bro ad Lan e

To w n

Tottenham Green

Th Ha e le

Hale Gardens M on ta gu

le R oa

Sta tio n Rd

Wa te

en onum

rme

Wa y

Hig h Roa d

TOTTENHAM HALE

B ro a

WG re e n

ne d La

Road

Seven Sisters Station

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

How did we unravel an urban lexicon?

Edgeware Road NW1, NW8, W2, Westminster The area around Edgeware Road marks what some consider as the Western edge of London’s centre, situated between the mainline stations of Marylebone and Paddington. It is a culturally diverse area with residents and visitors stemming from the Middle East, Africa, Europe and further afield. Edgeware Road Station has two distinct access points for the two underground lines served (Bakerloo and District and Circle). Many bus routes also operate in the area. The section of Edgeware Road that connects these links is covered by the substantial Marylebone flyover, routed above. Church Street is home to a busy street market, open Mondays to Saturdays1. The market hosts over 200 stalls, selling food as well as clothes, electronics and other accessories. The street also hosts other food outlets, a supermarket and venues such as the well known antiques stores in the Eastern end of the road. Church Street is active on most days, as it is popular with a range of patrons, both locals from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities visiting the market, as well as visitors who travel from further afield. 50

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Broadley Street Gardens is a small, local park, situated between the Church Street estate and the King Solomon Academy school. Since running the street workshops, the park has been renovated 2, but during our visits, it offered a children’s play area, a gazebo with benches and several grassed areas and mounds divided by a path and punctuated by beech trees. Salisbury Street to Ashbridge Street form a network of narrow roads that sit south east of Church street. They are predominantly residential, comprising a mix of dense three to six storey properties. These vary from a handful of Victorian and Edwardian buildings, to a range of modern construction from the 1960’s through to the early twenty first century, combining privately owned, rented and local authority homes. Accordingly, the mix of residents in this area is diverse, representing different ages, income levels and cultures. 1. www.churchstreetmarket.org 2. Details of the renovation are available at http:// www.westminster.gov.uk/services/environment/ landandpremises/parksandopenspaces/broadleystreet-gardens

EDGEWARE ROAD

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

How did we unravel an urban lexicon?

2. Workshops From April to June 2008, we ran street workshops around London to find out how people felt, what details they noticed and to establish any connections between the two. Prior to the workshops we prepared and sent a briefing pack to each participant, to explain more about the project, the workshops and to help them start thinking about the questions we wanted to address. Each participant was provided with a map which laid out a tour of the area, a response sheet, as well as a digital camera, clipboard and pen. All they had to bring were their five senses and their opinions.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Detail Detectives

First, think about your instinctive feeling towards this place? Is it good or bad, or a combination of the two?

What clues or details do you notice that might make you feel that way?

Record it and how it has made you feel...

And letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talk about it.

Workshop Pack

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

How did we unravel an urban lexicon?

We provided maps for each of the four areas, highlighting the locations of the four different spacetypes we wanted them to visit. We did not tell the participants which areas we were visiting until we arrived at a station or bus stop for each respective location. That way we could ensure their responses were as spontaneous and instinctive as possible. Many of the participants had never visited the areas before, while one or two knew selected parts very well. In each area we stipulated a start and finish point and allowed between 30 minutes and two hours for people to navigate between and explore the four space-types, but in no instance did we specify an order or particular route that should be taken between them. For more examples of the maps see part two of the report, the Appendix.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

How did we unravel an urban lexicon?

Response sheets acted as a quick prompt to remind people how they had felt and what they had seen. Along with photos they became the basis of post tour interviews.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Detail Detectives Street workshops: tours, observations with participants and in-context interviews

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

After exploring each location, we reconvened with our participants so they could feedback their immediate responses. We asked them to pinpoint how they felt about the places they had visited and what clues stood out that might make them feel that way. We asked more specific questions to understand why those details had affected them. Our interviews provided an in-depth, personal response to each place and the way in which people were affected by specific details. We recorded the interviews which became an important part of our research material. Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

How did we unravel an urban lexicon?

3. Analysis The third part of this project has involved consolidating the material gathered from the workshops and scoping phases. This included over 250 sets of data from our participants, in audio, written and photographic formats, as well as our notes taken from discussions and observations. We transcribed the material from our audio interviews with each participant. These proved vital to understanding what stimulated people to focus on a particular detail, area or activity that they identified within the workshops. Simultaneously, we reviewed the responses they had made using the site visit forms and organised all the photos they had taken. Creating links between the interviews, photos and annotated forms, we drew out common themes and responses. Rather than any presupposed outcome, common themes surfaced primarily from the participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interviews, their words and feelings shaping our conclusions. Our learning is presented in summary over the next few pages, and in-depth responses can be found in part two of this document.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Part 2

Signs of the Urban Lexicon This second section represents a wider selection of our contributors’ responses. People’s feelings and photos group together to reveal themes or ‘lexicons’ that emerged in greater depth.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Signs of ... Character / Blandness Life / Lifelessness Welcome / Exclusion Security / Fear Love / Neglect

UNRAVELLING THE URBAN LEXICON IDENTIFYING SIGNS

Signs of Character / Blandness Character defines a sense of place. There is no formula for unique or memorable spaces, but encouraging the authentic ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’ of the location to define these signs helps to communicate a place’s identity. Eclectic but cohesive environments often proved the most popular. Such spaces offered an array of details for participants to pick up on, helping them to create a clear picture of the place’s identity. For example, during the Urban Lexicons street workshops, the character of certain greenspaces was seen to come through by allowing nature to define the feel of the space rather than it being overly manicured. In this context, many participants used the word ‘ramshackle’ in describing some of the spaces they viewed as positive. Signs of visual distinctiveness and independence were high on the list, as was a desire to find indicators of authentic initiative rather than ‘pre-fabricated’ industry or ‘chain’ solutions. Amongst those we interviewed, there appeared to be a demand to encounter a genuine entrepreneurialism, that helps define uniqueness of identity, community and imparts a sense of trust within these environments. Tiers of history also leave a rich palette of details that offer clues to the unique mix of people and events that help shape an area. Details that conveyed a sense of ‘heritage’ to the participants, were identified as distinct signs of London’s multi-layered characteristics. Conversely, a number of sites were seen to suffer from a certain blandness, often connected to utilitarian details, such as standard metal railings and nondescript street furniture. A station is the very place to seize the opportunity of announcing a destination’s unique qualities – yet in several cases, they were considered amongst the worst offenders. With few unique details, such featureless locations provided little in the way of a sense of arrival or orientation, and suggested nothing of local character. 64

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

SIGNS OF CHARACTER / BLANDNESS TAVISTOCK TERRACE RESIDENTIAL

“ Even if the architecture is repetitive ...character is added by the different colours to the doors and adding details in different ways.” Luciano

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

SIGNS OF CHARACTER / BLANDNESS TAVISTOCK TERRACE RESIDENTIAL

How would you describe ‘character’? “ Character! Its diversity amongst the homogeneity. They are all the same but they are all different. It expresses the character of the people who live in them. No two people are the same, which adds interest.” Luciano

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

“ There’s no net curtains, which means people are posh. Net curtains suggest a bit common. My parents have net curtains so that no one can look in and burgle your house.” Tom

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

SIGNS OF CHARACTER / BLANDNESS TAVISTOCK TERRACE RESIDENTIAL

“ This is a wealthy street. There are certain things that suggest that. The railings, the original windows and doors, the wooden shutters. The fact there’s only one door bell, they haven’t been divided into flats. The smell of wood burning. The cars are not flashy like those you might find in Chelsea, not BMW’s and Mercedes. So maybe they’ve got better things to worry about. Maybe they’re more intellectual.” Kathy Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

SIGNS OF CHARACTER / BLANDNESS TAVISTOCK TERRACE RESIDENTIAL

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

“ The railings... They’re more interesting than modern railings, not because they’re decorated, but because they’re less utilitarian. Why’s it got to be just utilitarian?”Luciano

“ The design is peculiar to this street. The triangular archway with the old man’s head. There must be a reference to a local character. Its nice, but who is he!? A head of developer? An old sailor who made a fortune and built these houses?” Luciano

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

SIGNS OF CHARACTER / BLANDNESS WOOD GREEN ROAD commercial

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

“ There was no sense of Great Britain plc that you get in every town in Britain where there’s Smiths, Boots, Tescos and Costa Coffee. There was none of those businesses.” Mark “ I liked the feeling it had a sense of place about it, you felt you were on an alternative high street.” Steve “ I don’t aspire to Costa coffee. But I found it very depressing on a very personal level. If I had to live there and that was how I had to exist day in day out, that would make me very unhappy.” Tom Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

SIGNS OF / BLANDNESS Signs ofCHARACTER Character / Blandness: Tottenham MONMOUTH STREET COMMERCIAL

“ It felt European, civilized, cosmopolitan, liveable, high spec: ‘London at its best’. The café culture makes you want to sit down, take time, but the area retains London identity from the period details in the streets.” Steve 74 Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

“ The first thing that stuck with me was the road. The road was ridiculous. It’s a kind of faux cobbled, new bloody stupid thing and the road really wound me it up. It was far too neat.” Jon

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

What do you mean by quality materials? “ Here in Covent garden it’s the brick, it’s the cobbles, it’s the fact that there’s some consistency between the streets. It’s quality because it’s very highly maintained.” Steve .

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

SIGNS OF CHARACTER / BLANDNESS: COVENT GARDEN

Heritage “ There were cobbled streets off to one side so there was a sense of history.” Mark “ The signs are in the same very old case and design. It says that you’re in high class central London.” Steve “ You’ve got some real rich Victorian bits and bobs hanging about, like the tile work outside Fred Perry is beautiful.” Sam

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

SIGNS OF CHARACTER / BLANDNESS edGEWARE ROAD TRANSPORT

“ I felt a lot of historical reference to it in the architectural features themselves. I felt a lot more effort involved in things, especially with the tiles, the individually cast tiles with pictures cast on them.” Caroline

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

SIGNS OF CHARACTER / BLANDNESS COVENT GARDEN GREENSPACE

“ On the entrance to the park, there’s a bit of mosaic from something that was there previous. It’s quite suggestive of the whole place. A detail of a flower. It’s a fragment of something really beautiful. I think that’s what the garden is in that bit of the town.” Sam

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

“ It had the touch of an allotment and a junk yard. I found it really charming because it was a bit of a mish-mash. There were so many pieces that were just thrown together and weren’t meant to fit.” Stefan

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

SIGNS OF CHARACTER / BLANDNESS ARCHWAY commercial

“ There was no sense of unity apart from the unremitting dullness of the road.” Mark

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

SIGNS OF CHARACTER / BLANDNESS ARCHWAY STATION TRANSPORT

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

“ Archway station is really lacking any personality whatsoever. There’s nothing.” Tom “ I felt separate and remote... a sense of it all being drab... of big block pieces of concrete and big tower blocks that have just been plonked there. Is Archway actually there when you come out? I don’t know what it is.” Steve

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

“ The street furniture is out of a catalogue. The local authority’s got a bit of money and has bought some furniture for that section but there’s nothing that says this is London or this is Archway. ” Steve

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SIGNS OF CHARACTER / BLANDNESS TOTTENHAM HALE STATION TRANSPORT

“ Its totally anonymous. It could be anywhere in the country.” Simon

“ The immediate environment was a bit nondescript. There was no sense of direction. My immediate reaction was ‘Where is Tottenham Hale?’ I could have been anywhere-land.” Steve

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“ I though ‘Ooh no, where on earth am I?’ A huge open space, there was no shops... It was a big load of nowhere. You couldn’t see anywhere. I’d have much preferred to be on some sort of high street where there’s lots of things going on that a huge open space looking into the distance” Mark

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UNRAVELLING THE URBAN LEXICON IDENTIFYING SIGNS

Signs of Life / Lifelessness Evidence of people, community, buzz and activity defines spaces that feel alive. Diversity is at the heart of it, and with that comes a sense of inclusion, welcome and friendliness. Signs of life offer people the freedom to shape their own space within a community. There’s a sense that, ‘I can fit in here too.’ By its very nature, public space should be open to everyone. Environments that were seen by the participants to support a broad span of activities and people, were better used, for longer and by a wider spectrum of the population. For example, greenspaces that offered places for people to carve their niche and areas for children, adults, pets and natural life, were at the centre of their community. Spaces that prohibited or did not support certain activities were restricted in use and felt dead. Our participants repeatedly used the term ‘community’ as something they perceived through environmental details; a collection of posters promoting events near West Green Road implied local social groups; collective respect for a space, such as freshly painted front-doors, was suggestive of residents’ regard for their streetscape in Tavistock Terrace. At other times, this came through details that supported multiple activities, for the local populations to be out on the streets, getting on with life. Allowing room for individual personalities and local characters to come through was seen to help define a place and encourage people out into shared spaces. Locally-run shops and street stalls with touchable goods promoted conversation between customers and owners, and was seen as a catalyst for good community relations. Life comes not only through evidence of people, but in locals having reason to bring their lives outside; working on cars, shopping or relaxing outdoors, stopping for a chat. Symptoms of transient populations —a proliferation of takeaway shops, ‘to let’ signs, or people hidden behind closed doors - contributed to perceptions of lifeless places that no-one wanted to stop to spend time in. 92

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“ I really liked it. It’s this thing of community and for want of a better word it seemed real. It was just everyone getting on with their lives.” Jon

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SIGNS OF LIFE / LIFELESSNESS CHURCH STREET COMMERCIAL

“ What stood out to me first of all were the pound signs, because it’s not £1.99, they’re not like ‘buy this.’ Caroline

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SIGNS OF LIFE / LIFELESSNESS CHURCH STREET COMMERCIAL

“ It’s very convenient for all the residents because they can afford it because it’s cheap. You look at the fruits. One tray is £1, whereas in Tescos you spend triple.” Perla

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SIGNS OF LIFE / LIFELESSNESS CHURCH STREET COMMERCIAL

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Community

“ I liked the fact that it was a space of provision; a very family space. Things were sized from childrens’ shoes to adults’ shoes and they were all placed next to each other.” Caroline

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“ There’s a lot of people just hanging around which kind of gives it more of a community feel...You can see the community bleeding through into the commercial district and vice versa.” Jon 100

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SIGNS OF LIFE / LIFELESSNESS WOOD GREEN ROAD COMMERCIAL

“ I feel like there could be a street festival at any second, I can see everyone going crazy. I think there’s a lack of order that suggests a sense of fun. It feels energetic through not being very ordered.” Jon

“ A real mish-mash “ It felt fun, I liked of different people. the variety. It was Its quite vibrant. busy. It was a bit Hustle and bustle.” down at heel and Simon I found that quite attractive at the same time.” Steve

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SIGNS OF LIFE / LIFELESSNESS CHURCH STREET COMMERCIAL

“ A space for individuals to sell things rather than by a corporation. A mess of personalities rather than some hideously organised thing. Not branded.” Jon

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SIGNS OF LIFE / LIFELESSNESS PHOENIX GARDENS GREENSPACE

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“It felt alive.” Jon

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SIGNS OF LIFE / LIFELESSNESS WHITTINGTON PARK GREENSPACE

“ Largely the park worked because I thought there were all sorts of different areas to explore.” Mark “ People seemed to be enjoying themselves, having fun in a sociable way. There was a sense of community owning the spaces. Mums and kids in the play area. Young lads playing football in the football area.” Steve

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SIGNS OF LIFE / LIFELESSNESS BROADLEY STREET GARDENS GREENSPACE

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“ You cannot play, you cannot touch the grass, you cannot breathe in the gardens! ‘ No dogs’ ‘no skating’ no nothing’!” Marta “ The space is really badly put together. I was trying to work out where I should try and sit. I couldn’t find anywhere ideal.” Jon “ Everyone’s sitting down... People come here for their lunch but not necessarily at any other stage.” Caroline

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SIGNS OF LIFE / LIFELESSNESS HOLLOWAY ROAD COMMERCIAL

Few signs of Life

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“ Lots of people going in or out but no one hanging around. There’s no cohesiveness to it.” Simon Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

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SIGNS OF LIFE / LIFELESSNESS HOLLOWAY ROAD COMMERCIAL

“ Who owns the street? People are passing by but where are they going? Cars are travelling to other places. It’s just a bit grim.” Steve “ I saw a lot of places to rent, a lot of little apartments to rent. It made me feel like everybody’s leaving that place and they are going to another place.” Marta

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SIGNS OF LIFE / LIFELESSNESS TAVISTOCK TERRACE RESIDENTIAL

“ Its lovely. I don’t want to be too loud. I don’t want to wake the posh people.” Tom

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“ There were no people... I felt everybody was behind closed doors. I’m not sure that everyone would know their neighbours up and down that road.” Mark “ Its not very lively. You don’t feel it’s that friendly and you imagine it’s ships in the night. Which is good and bad, you don’t necessarily want to be entangled with your neighbours all the time. I guess here it’s behind twitching curtains.” Simon Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

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SIGNS OF LIFE / LIFELESSNESS HALE GARDENS RESIDENTIAL

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“ One house I passed I could hear family noise and cooking. I thought that’s quite nice. People are just getting on with their lives. I would even consider living there, apart from the fact it was in the middle of a road.” Tom

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UNRAVELLING THE URBAN LEXICON IDENTIFYING SIGNS

Signs of Welcome / Exclusion Welcoming people to get involved in a space, make it theirs or leave their mark, is a true sign of a successful place. This physical and emotional engagement with an area is the first step to fostering ownership of that place. ‘Friendly’ details such as accessible outdoor seating were deemed to be important in the Urban Lexicons workshops. But beyond simply inviting people to stop, signs that facilitated active human involvement were seen as particularly welcoming. In commercial areas for example, traders engaged in new levels of communication with potential customers, by bringing the shop to the street. elements that allowed people to manipulate the features of a space to some extent – such as movable letters on a magnetic board, or on-street seats that can be positioned in different ways – not only encouraged people to feel they could engage, but in some cases also attracted them towards particular commercial venues, helping to promote trade. Good visibility was seen as a welcoming sign. On the flip side, places that put up physical or visual barriers made people feel excluded, and often made our participants apprehensive. Signs that embraced wide social groups were seen as positive, offering services to many types of people or promoting many activities. Conversley, those that prohibited certain activities often made people who would legitimately use a space reluctant to do so.

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SIGNS OF WELCOME/EXCLUSION TOTTENHAM HALE TRANSPORT

“ There was this pole with 8, 9, 10 ... a thousand CCTV cameras, I don’t even know what they were monitoring as there was nothing worthwhile even vandalising …It was insane, so over the top...It made me feel it was a purely utile zone where you’re not meant to stay more than half a minute.” Jon

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SIGNS OF WELCOME/EXCLUSION TOTTENHAM HALE TRANSPORT

“ Horrible carpark and metal railings. Could have been in a borstal somewhere. I’d have been much happier if that had been green.” Mark

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“ It sucks! It’s the grotty little cues. You come out, there’s a big car park and buses coming towards you and concrete round things for no reason, metal railings and CCTV. Its just all uugh. Its bizarre that it’s oppressive yet it’s really open at the same time, so why should it feel that way? It’s not a pleasant spot.” Simon

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SIGNS OF WELCOME/EXCLUSION TOTTENHAM HALE TRANSPORT

“ I liked the glass walls that made it feel open, and you sense the outside space that you were part of.” Steve “ I liked the glass around, you could see outside. On the other side there’s some plants but at the same time its enclosed.” Mark

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“ A sign to the Lee Valley walk. I thought that’s really good, all of a sudden there’s access to greenspace somewhere and I all have to do is follow this sign.” Mark

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SIGNS OF WELCOME/EXCLUSION ARCHWAY TRANSPORT

“ The pavement was wide...Several lanes all travelling somewhere else and you’re a bit player as a pedestrian in that whole scene.” Steve “ I liked the fact that the pavement was wide so I could stand and get my bearings without people pushing into me.” Mark

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“ You’re segregated by this big road from the other side of the road by these big railings which are clearly there to protect you from the traffic. But the downside is that you can’t actually figure how you would get to the other side of the road.” Steve

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SIGNS OF WELCOME/EXCLUSION ARCHWAY TRANSPORT

“ It felt very harsh. Clearly designed for functionality but without thinking about people. The walls were very hard, concrete-y, blank. My experience in coming out of that station was that it was a very unfriendly environment, with shutters. You just thought ‘would I want to come through this area at night?, No, I wouldn’t.’ It was just absolutely appalling.” Steve

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SIGNS OF WELCOME/EXCLUSION MONMOUTH STREET COMMERCIAL

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A place to sit “ Outside Monmouth Coffee Shop they’ve got a bench for people to sit on. Those are really friendly and inviting details.” Sam

SIGNS OF WELCOME/EXCLUSION WOOD GREEN ROAD/ MONMOUTH STREET COMMERCIAL

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“ That sign. I thought, that’s very inclusive: Euro, Afro, Asian, we’ll look after everybody. I thought ‘Ooh that’s good’.” Mark

“ Inside Neal’s Yard you’ve got fridge magnet poetry which invites everyone to participate, which is another friendly little detail. Then they’ve got blackboards with peoples’ observations and poetry and stuff.” Sam

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SIGNS OF WELCOME/EXCLUSION WHITTINGTON PARK GREENSPACE

“ I wasn’t sure what to expect. You’ve got the banks of earth and you can’t really see in. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be teenagers drinking cans of lager on swings or what it was going to be.” Simon 132

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“ The park seemed like an extension of people’s front gardens as the barriers were quite low.” Kathy “ The embankments are a nice way to end the park. It forms a gateway. It’s protected but its open. There are no barriers.” Luciano

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SIGNS OF WELCOME/EXCLUSION PHOENIX GARDENS GREENSPACE

“ There was a sign, no drinking, no drugs, but even that had a nice ramshackle look to it...I think the intention was to make it look more like a community ad-hoc look. It looked like it was in Louisiana, some swamp land.” Simon “ The big sign. That’s the thing that bothered me. ‘cause it said no drugs and I think that’s a given. You don’t sit down and start taking drugs openly do you? I expected to find little ASBO kids smoking cannabis.” Stefan

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SIGNS OF WELCOME/EXCLUSION HALE GARDENS RESIDENTIAL

“ There was one unit with an entrance breeze blocked up. That’s a really strong signal that an area isn’t doing very well. If you breeze block up an entrance it’s not very easy to open and shut it again. There’s no point in using the space basically and it’s very negative.” Tom

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SIGNS OF WELCOME/EXCLUSION EDGEWARE ROAD RESIDENTIAL

“ That’s a car park for these flats. It’s very, very dark. If it was in the winter at 4 o’clock when it’s already dark I wouldn’t go near there. It’s not inviting. You have that reluctance to go in the place. I wouldn’t hang around in that area. I wouldn’t go about in the dark.” Perla

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SIGNS OF WELCOME/EXCLUSION TAVISTOCK TERRACE RESIDENTIAL

“ I don’t think yo many rocking neighbours wo off. You can’t ex bbq outside. It that you would Tom 138

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UNRAVELLING THE URBAN LEXICON IDENTIFYING SIGNS

Signs of Security / Fear Building a sense of security is about building trust. It appears that no measures of deterrent or detection such as CCTV, metal shutters, high railings can act as substitute for people in creating sensations of safer spaces. Rather, during many of the Urban Lexicons workshops, they were perceived to make for untrusting or suspicious environments. Legitimate human activity, time and again, made a place feel more secure and encouraged people to use a space. Empty environments or, ironically, those with overtly-prominent security features, often provoked responses of fear and doubt amongst our participants. However, where someone was present who cared for that space (e.g., a park warden, a community gardener), our contributors felt much more at ease. Details that made a place feel very enclosed also tended to encourage fear. Surprisingly, greenspaces brought about a number of feelings of uncertainty, particularly where they featured high barriers and poor sightlines across the park. Such details threw up notions of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;an open prisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. In transport spaces, dim lighting, dated interiors and small, enclosed spaces left people feeling wary and fearful of using those stations at night, especially amongst women. These negative details could always be combated by a diversity of human presence, which helped to describe places that people responded to as more safe and secure.

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ou’d have too parties, the ould tell you xactly have a t feels so clean dn’t want to.” Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR ARCHWAY TRANSPORT

“ Steel shutters which are there for security purposes actually create an environment where it doesn’t feel safe or friendly or attractive so you don’t want to be there as a person.” Steve

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR WOOD GREEN ROAD COMMERCIAL

“ At the beginning part of the road you may feel fearful. It was very scruffy and dirty. A lot of metal shutters outside the shops. They give you a sense of hooliganism; you fear you’re shop front’s going to be smashed in.” Kathy “ What I didn’t like. There were steel shutters, and one or two had their shutters down. I thought if they all had them down at night it would feel quite hostile.” Steve

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR MONMOUTH STREET COMMERCIAL

“ Instead of putting up an unfriendly closed sign in the cheese shop, they’ve stacked their bins outside which is a nicer way of saying were closed than a big abrupt sign.”Sam

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR PHOENIX GARDENS GREENSPACE

“ The bars. It just felt like an open prison. Negative vibes, negative vibes all the way.” Alex

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR PHOENIX GARDENS GREENSPACE

“ The graffiti’s quite optimistic as well, you know, “Resistance is never futile. Have a nice day.” You don’t get that everywhere, do you?!” Sam

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“ It was nasty. There was a pond, there was more graffiti then there’s more bushes. Then you see the odd person on the corner, and you think, woah, this is creepy. At night, this is one place you do not want to be in... It would be very awkward and dangerous.” Alex

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR TOTTENHAM GREEN GREENSPACE

“ It felt safe, because it was close to the pavement and close to the road. Because there were a lot of people about.” Steve

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR WHITTINGTON PARK GREENSPACE

“ The other thing that made me feel alright about going in, because I was quite apprehensive, was that you can see people relaxing. Seeing people doing that makes it feel like a nicer place.” Tom

SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR BRAODLEY STREET GARDENSGREENSPACE

“ If someone went in there to attack you, there’s no one around to notice you.” Perla

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR PHOENIX GARDENS GREENSPACE

“ It was like someone’s garden. I felt like it was a place of trust, there were things hanging on the trees. I thought, the place is open, they’re trusting you not to run off with stuff and they’re respecting you and you end up respecting them.” Jon “ Phoenix Gardens to me was more of a person’s backyard, not a public thing. They had loads of things on the trees that hang down. To me it doesn’t fit in with my conditioning of a public park. It just seemed too much.” Adrian

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR COLEVILLE PLACE RESIDENTIAL

“ The trees are chained up in the streets next to people’s houses, which I find slightly strange. I can see they don’t want to have them nicked but it didn’t give a very trusting feel.” Sam

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“ The people there, as far as I can see, look imprisoned. ...some people have put perspex up so they can get the light but no one can see in...there was one window with slatted blinds, and they were all perfectly horizontal, and then there was one bit that was a wee bit open where someone had peeked through. So it did feel like they felt they were being watched, and I felt I was being watched by them because I couldn’t see them...a feeling of observation.” Caroline

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR HALE GARDENS RESIDENTIAL

“ The school, I think, was a bit over the top. It was like an industrial unit. It felt like a prison. The galvanised bits of metal. At first I saw it and thought it was an industrial unit. I caught the sign in the corner of my eye that said primary school. I thought, ‘oh’.” Tom “ The metal entrance on the school is incongruous. The school barriers make it look like a prison or depot.” Kathy

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR COLEVILLE PLACE RESIDENTIAL

“ Limited access with the houses. You can only get into the building if you’ve got a code, you can only get into a certain alleyway if the gate is unlocked. In the playground they had barbed wire all over the playgrounds and they and more fencing up and more, ‘get out, this is my place’ It’s more like a fortress, they’re defending their right to own this thing and there’s a suspicion that someone will take this away. “ Caroline

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR HALE GARDENS RESIDENTIAL

“ Usually a subway is a daunting place. They made the subway inviting, by adding different levels, flowers, lighting. It took away the threat. ”Kathy 160

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR ARCHWAY TRANSPORT

“ The actual station is uninviting... the poor lighting, drab décor, especially the old tiles, and at the back a dark entrance. I wouldn’t feel very safe.” Kathy Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR TOTTENHAM HALE TRANSPORT

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“ I noticed the bike racks. It’s just maintenance. A lick of paint over the rust, but then some of the locks were cut open. And it doesn’t really bode well. A lot of them have been twisted. I don’t really feel safe with my bike being here.” Tom

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SIGNS OF SECURITY /FEAR HALE GARDENS RESIDENTIAL

“ Walking into it on my o with a camera and a cli feel I was in the best po once you heard all the the music blaring and young fellas walking a intimidating to begin w I walked around it the m in your mind.’ Carolin 164

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own being a female ipboard, I didn’t exactly osition, especially windows open and the cars going and around. It was a wee bit with and then the more more I thought, ‘it’s all ne Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

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UNRAVELLING THE URBAN LEXICON IDENTIFYING SIGNS

Signs of Love / Neglect Signs that make us love a place because they show someone else has loved it first. Within the variety of spaces visited and passed through, many examples of personal effort, thought, time and care (and trust) were spotted by our participants. Contrasting examples of neglect were also found, showing a distinct lack of love, or individual contribution and were seen to portray far more impersonal characteristics.

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SIGNS OF LOVE/NEGLECT MONMOUTH STREET COMMERCIAL

“ Loads of plants, loads of green things show that people really care about that area.” Sam

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SIGNS OF LOVE/NEGLECT TAVISTOCK TERRACE RESIDENTIAL

Love

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â&#x20AC;&#x153; Somebody had taken the trouble to paint a mural of flowers and plants, so what looked like a dark, dank little space when you were once in it was quite attractive.â&#x20AC;? Mark

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“ The mosaic of the step was very interesting, that was unusual, the mosaic of the house number. Because I think that would have taken some special effort.” Mark

SIGNS OF LOVE/NEGLECT COLEVILLE PLACE RESIDENTIAL 172 Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

“ A weird sign of love. In a shed someone in the house had wrapped up their bits in plastic bags, and that’s what my mum does. She doesn’t pay for boxes because bags are free and watertight. My mum comes from a really poor background and I can imagine who that kind of person was because I can relate to it.” Tom

SIGNS OF LOVE/NEGLECT HALE GARDENS RESIDENTIAL 173 Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

SIGNS OF LOVE/NEGLECT MONMOUTH STREET COMMERCIAL

“ Round Neal’s Yard, there’s lots of evidence of people caring for their stores and the area. Down to the hanging baskets and lots of hand done bits of type. Attention to detail but not in a ‘brandy-brand’ type way. Its all quite personal.” Sam

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“ Little things I liked about it. The bollards. The full length of the street has the same design of bollards. What that says to me is that somebody has thought about the whole space, the whole street, the whole urban design of that in a detailed way. It’s those sort of touches that make it feel like a quality area. Thought’s gone into it.” Steve

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SIGNS OF Signs ofLOVE/NEGLECT Character / Blandness: Tottenham PHOENIX GARDENS GREENSPACE

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“ These wonderful beaten-up old benches. They don’t have a speck of graffiti on them, people obviously care about them...You can tell where the grass has worn out in front of them where everyone’s sat.” Sam

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SIGNS OF LOVE/NEGLECT TOTTENHAM GREEN GREENSPACE

“ ONLY ONE BENCH! ...And when I sit down, look what I see! This bench is just used by alcoholics and look how ingrained all of the bottle tops and ring pulls are. This has been going on for a while...” Luciano

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SIGNS OF Signs ofLOVE/NEGLECT Character / Blandness: Tottenham TOTTENHAM RESIDENTIAL

Neglect

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SIGNS OF LOVE/NEGLECT HALE GARDENS RESIDENTIAL

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Signs of Character / Blandness: Tottenham

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SIGNS OF LOVE/NEGLECT HALE GARDENS RESIDENTIAL

“ The walk going down to Hale Gardens...I was building myself up to something that wasn’t very nice because outside there was a bench that had been totally eaten by rot and I couldn’t imagine anyone sitting there. There was litter in the foliage. If you live there it’s a total disregard to your living environment.” Tom

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SIGNS OF Signs ofLOVE/NEGLECT Character / Blandness: Tottenham TAVISTOCK TERRACE RESIDENTIAL

“ It’s easier here for someone to take care of their bit. Englishman’s castle. And you can tell that people really do take care of their bit... 184

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SIGNS OF LOVE/NEGLECT HALE GARDENS RESIDENTIAL

...that’s the difference. You can’t really take care of a whole tower block. Hale Gardens had a big stain at the side.” Tom Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

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“ It’s preconceptions of a tower block. It’s quite anonymous, not particularly individual attention in the actual architecture, but you’ll see window boxes and little balconies and people have spent quite a bit of time individualising their own space as much as they can.” Simon

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SIGNS OF LOVE/NEGLECT HALE GARDENS RESIDENTIAL

“ On top of the tower block there were lots of mobile phone masts. If this was a middle class area they wouldn’t be there at all. It’s like you’re not valuing the people there in the first place.” Simon “ Beam me up Scottie! It looks like a surveillance tower on a prison camp.” Kathy

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“ The simple thing of the guy working on his car out in the open, that really changed the ambience of the place for me and made me think my immediate reaction was not valid. There was also some music. So my initial reaction was negative but by the time I left, it was a lot less negative.” Jon “ The music blaring, cars going, young fellas... that began being negative, completely flipped and became quite positive.”Caroline

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“ The first really good sight was that great car. That was like ‘oh wow’ that’s the best car I’ve seen all day. “ Simon

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Signs of Character / Blandness: Tottenham

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SIGNS OF LOVE/NEGLECT HOLLOWAY ROAD COMMERCIAL

“ The whole experience is slightly depressing. On a wet Wednesday afternoon it must be really soul destroying walking down that street.” Steve

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SIGNS OF LOVE/NEGLECT ARCHWAY TRANSPORT

“ It was filthy. There were chips, there were newspapers, it could only have been worse if someone had vomited.” Mark “ It’s like moving into a new house but no one’s cleaning up or taking care of it, so it quickly gets into a state... there is no sign of love. A sign of love is a clean place. It doesn’t need to be a pot of flowers.” Tom 192

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“ It was the flowers, the very fact that there were flowers, the door was well painted, and that it was clean. It felt loved. More than next door, although it’s not much different to next door. It’s the flowers that do it.” Kathy

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Part three

Learning from our Urban Lexicons This project reveals a better understanding of how people react to city spaces, and how small things can make a big difference. Want to change the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perceptions of a place, or even how they use it? Try changing the little things first. Can a few more bins bring about greater pride in an area? Can a thoughtfully-placed bench encourage community life? Can a low hedge keep a park safe?

“ Only very small things would have made a difference. If only the grass had been cut that would have said to me that someone was taking a bit of interest. There were signs of disinterest all round, the grass wasn’t cut, the fence was in disrepair, there was rubbish outside the houses. Just cutting the grass and some flowers would have made a lot of difference to me.” Mark

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM UNRAVELLING OUR URBAN LEXICON?

You can’t design a place that keeps everybody happy, but there are plenty of common denominators that can help to create places that most people love. Signs of society and humanity were seen as universal signs of successful and well-loved spaces. Although ‘love’ from the local authority is important, allowing space for individual personalities to come through really says, ‘this place belongs to people.’ Social housing with opportunities for people to personalise and make the space theirs; a station that welcomes visitors with a sense of local character and community; a park with places for many different activities and the chance to get involved in caring for the space. This goes beyond passively using a place towards actively participating and shaping it. New places, especially, should encourage these opportunities to help create a sense of place. However, changing details isn’t necessarily an easy option. Time and again our participants picked up on standardised solutions, the obvious options that created bland places. Details that had taken time or effort to create were seen overwhelmingly in the places that people reacted well to to. People notice the effort and appreciate it. We love places that others have loved first, and a small detail can help to kick-start that turnaround, changing a place that says ‘no’ into a place that says, ‘yes.’ We hope this research proves enlightening and useful for anyone involved in improving their public spaces, from residents groups to planning professionals to an individual who cares about their city. Keep these signs in mind when considering the city that surrounds you and see what a difference a detail can make.

Rosanna Vitiello & Marcus Willcocks

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photo: Luciano Vitiello

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Applying Urban Lexicons Ideas Box How can practitioners connected to the urban environment, apply what we have learned to help design, plan and manage places, streets and urban interventions? How can we think about the vocabulary of our public spaces when creating a new development, installation or finding solutions to improve an existing place? What do we want these streets to communicate to the people that use them? We have translated the observations of those that took part in the workshops, into an Urban Lexicons Ideas Box. This is conceived as a collection of ideas to help expand your placemaking â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;vocabularyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and enlighten the process of creating and solving projects in an urban context.

Each place is unique, and needs consideration to communicate the most appropriate lexicons for that environment. This Ideas Box is by no means intended as a definitive guide to place-making, but does suggest alternative ways to think about the environment. Questions such as ‘What signs of life most reflect the people and their chosen activities in this area?’, ‘What kind of character could this place highlight most?’, or ‘What does ‘welcoming’ mean to the people who live here?’ are all important. The ultimate goal is to design-in the positive signs, and help design-out the negatives. We hope that through reading this, you’ll be able to further expand the possibilities of public spaces and shared built environments, by considering how people’s responses to a place (such as those collected through this project) can be useful to guide priorities for place-making issues.

Character

Welcome

What do you want these streets to communicate to people that use them? The Urban Lexicon Ideas Box is v according to the ‘signs of ’ themes that emerged through this work: Signs of character, welcome, security, life and love,

Life

Security

Love Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

APPLYING URBAN LEXICONS

Character Communicate what makes the place unique through details The environmental details (sights, sounds, smells, textures and physical features) of a place should aim to work together to reflect its strongest characteristics. As clothes and accessories worn by people can help convey their personality, so specificity and originality are important, for a place to be perceived as distinctive and memorable. The collections of details that make up a place should give significant clues about what happens there and who lives and works or plays there, present and past. People can read character more easily when the features they encounter represent key aspects about who is (or has been) there, and what activities are most regularly conducted there. Elements that are specific to groups of users, type of activities or periods in time can help people feel acquainted with a place more quickly and comfortably.

Encourage layers of original detail Layers of detail can give insights about a placeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history and how it adapts to change. For example... ...A preserved mosaic set into a tarmac street corner or an original ornate railing from a specific period, can tell us much more about a place than modern copies of a similar style. ...Yet a new bus shelter just opposite, may be a completely original design that reflects contemporary demands on the same space, without needing to mimic the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;heritageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; clues nearby.

Consider details in context Formal and informally created features, at different scales in the surrounding environment, are commonly perceived together, so elements need to be considered in context, not as stand-alone features as if they would have the impact and effect in each location. ...An empty dispensing box for free newspapers that is used by people to perch on, might tell us more about the peoples’ need to stop for a moment than it does about the day’s news or the appropriateness of the box’s installation there in the first place. ...The soft ‘pad’ of longer grass underfoot, purposely left uncut in a park, may help signify an area not designated for sport but better suited to enjoying the natural elements that are there. ...A multitude of bicycles secured to railings might tell us about preferred transport methods of people nearby, in spite of lack of any formal parking provision.

Signs of wear or age can be interpreted positively when the materials and finishes in place are resilient enough to continue serving their purpose well, so achieving the right balance of materials and maintenance is important. For example... ...a wooden street-market cart may be decades old and losing paint, but continues to function and contributes greatly to the perceived character of the street where it is still used. Especially important in... Transport Interchanges where people need to grasp an immediate sense of place. Commercial spaces where the presence of corporate brands can reduce opportunities for local character to shine through.

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APPLYING URBAN LEXICONS

Welcome Encourage visibility Help people to read and understand a place. Do so by minimising harsh visual barriers such as poorly thoughtout high walls, or aggressive-looking railings, fences or security features. At thresholds, such as road crossings or the edge of parkland, consider sight lines and visual aids that connect to the surrounding environment; adding clear way finding, good lighting, bringing the scale of a place down to eye level, creating defined spaces and the right pace to allow people to stop and look while they get their bearings.

Use real people to add welcome Consider park or area wardens and ‘capable guardians’, rather than excessive dependence on CCTV or signage.

Invite people to get involved and share ownership Allow flexibility in the configuration of parts of the environment or its facilities. Offer free-access public facilities for recreation, where one body provides the ‘hardware’ and the people bring whatever is needed to animate the place with activity. For example... ...Outdoor chess boards invite intellectual challenge ...Basketball courts just need a ball to come to life with play ... Blackboards create outdoor art galleries ... Designated spots for buskers become open-air theatres

Use inviting language Develop signage that invites people, telling them what they can do, rather than rather than only telling them what they can’t do. Consider both visual and written language. What tone of voice should your signs take? In urban areas where many languages are spoken, clear visual symbols and diagrams can speak to everyone.

Make everything accessible Build on the success of market stalls to give people the opportunity to use all their senses outside to look, touch, smell and taste. Bringing produce, flowers or food out onto the street in all weather to animate a place.

Consider a place at night and day When a place is shut up, avoid excluding people by giving them clues as how it operates at its busiest times. For example... ...Colourful shutters that allow you to see into a shop, even when closed, make the street or space feel like it is never fully shut down and maintains a friendly aspect at all hours.

Support a good mix of activities A single space can feel welcoming to many groups of users at different times, according to what elements are made accessible through the day. Consider and, where possible, work with the diverse groups who most need to feel welcomed in a given context. For example... ...For pedestrians to feel welcome on a commercial street, a network of barriers will not often help them so much as it would add welcome for the traffic dividing the pedestrians. ...Locating stand-up urinals on-street over a weekend may suit certain groups of males, but what features may help welcome other users to the same area, at similar or different times?

Especially important in... All spaces because welcoming details encourage people to spend time in, care for, and respect any space

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APPLYING URBAN LEXICONS

Security Our street workshops indicated that feelings of security are not promoted by increasing the number of locks, high barriers, CCTV and warning signs. Rather, perceptions of security were more associated to being able to observe healthy levels of legitimate activity and the presence of mixed groups of other people engaging in the spaces.

Promote different activities through different hours of a day Such spaces will be better equipped to promote safe environments for longer.

Show signs of trusting people Spaces that show signs of trust can go a long way towards establishing a mutual culture of respect and care among people using them. For example ...Flower baskets and wind chimes left accessible in a communal garden add more to the environmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s security than chains securing plant pots on a residential street. ...Lower fences and less barriers will often help reduce perceptions of hostility and increase opportunities for connection between different users of a space.

The need for physical security to prevent a mischievous minority should always be considered against the potential impacts of any intervention on the far wider proportion of legitimate users. ...Redesigning a seating installation to better encourage particular activities will likely add far more security to an environment than simply removing a bench.

Especially important in... Greenspaces, where people showed concerns over safety and ownership of the park. Commercial areas, where premises may typically be closed by steel shutters, or protected by other visually aggressive measures. Some participants expressed more concern from the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;securityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; features themselves than they did from the surrounding environment

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APPLYING URBAN LEXICONS

Life Our workshops upheld the belief that people attract people. But how do you provide the initial trigger that brings life to a space?

Create flexible spaces Environments that support a broad sweep of activities and people were seen to be alive and well-used. It is difficult to anticipate all the activities that could occur in a given space, so providing some flexible street furniture and facilities, allows people to adapt the space to their own needs. For example... ...Steps that are broad and long enough to be used as sun-loungers ...A wide outdoor plinth that can live as a stage or seating ...Moveable chairs that allow the users to configure their seating arrangements as they wish ...Level stoop steps leading to a house that double up as product display space on the weekend, as theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re taken over by a neighbourhood stoop sale ...Durable materials to permit some degree of skating in addition to pedestrian uses at other times.

Allowing people to adapt or appropriate their public spaces goes a long way to fostering ownership and, in turn, building a sense of community.

Give people a reason to bring their lives outside Provide cues for people to stop and stay: For example... ...Benches facing towards the street ...Communal spaces to gather

...Landmarks that become meeting places ...Signs on the pavement that entice you inside ... Produce outside that begs to be touched, smelt and tasted

Encourage a richness of detail As well as giving people a lot of interesting things to look at, rich detail can be synonymous with a diverse population and active uses. In retail streets, small facades with a wide variation in offering, often encouraged life. A good example is West Green road with its barber shops, African music stores, Mauritian travel agents and Turkish grocers. In green spaces, life may come through rich landscaping of plants, trees, flowers and grasses, or encouraging wildlife through supporting habitats such as bird boxes. Often this richness is fostered by allowing room for local personalities and characters to come through. Consider schemes to promote individuality in store-facades and street furniture. Use colours, patterns and textures that reference the different groups of people or cultures who might use the site.

Especially important in... Commercial areas, where life is the most important driver of a sustainable commercial environment, but also encourages healthy social encounters in public space.

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

APPLYING URBAN LEXICONS

Love Features that show people have been allowed to care, and invest their personal time and effort into have proved an important part of any urban lexicon. How can we do this?

Give people opportunities to show their love for a place Signs of someone loving a space can be best communicated when there is opportunity for love to be expressed, in whatever form that may be. This is often made possible by permitting individual, personal interventions in places and encouraging people to go the extra mile to care for their environment. This is not about instructions but more about opportunities. For example... ...Designing-in the space for residents to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;guerilla gardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; their own street... ...Providing the paint or other materials for young people to customise the bollards in their neighbourhood... ...Allowing street stall-holders to add their name to their business, showing personal ownership while fitting within a coherent look for the street market as a whole.

Ask people that live there what they want, and invite them to be part of doing it In listening and taking part, people are more likely to find something to love about a place. Equally, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re more likely to understand the urban details people cherish, and be able highlight or support them. There is a balance of opinion to be heard. During planning and design stages, consider a wider range of users and activities when making decisions about details. For example... ...Doors designed in a way that allows people to choose the finish and make them their own... ...Trees selected and planted with the people who will pass them by, are often loved more than those that are simply â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;specified from the topâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Especially important in... Residential Spaces, where signs of love convey mutual respect and foster community ownership

Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

Learning from our spaces In addition to signs of the urban lexicon, certain preoccupations emerged in relation to the different types of spaces. Character was deemed important in transport spaces; security featured highly in greenspaces; life was considered essential in commercial spaces, and love within residential areas. Within each space we can also see the relationship between one sign and another; How signs of life can bring about a sense of security, for instance, or signs of neglect feed into signs of fear. This chapter sets out the patterns that emerged in each space. Considering our urban lexicon in this way can help us see practical applications of these signs.

Commercial

Greenspace

Residential

Transport

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Commercial

“ That’s more like it. Yeah I like it. Small, independent businesses, bit of a mess, its really busy, there’s a lot going on.” Jon

Successful commercial spaces become hubs of exchange for the community; The place to go about day to day activities, meet and socialize with others, to bump into a neighbour, to chat with shop owners. Streets become a reflection of successful shops, the space for the community to mix in public. People tend to find the most positive features of a street or shopping environment to be those details which make it different from other places and specifically those that come from evidence of the character and care/ attention shown towards the area by those who live and work there. i.e., Signs of unique character through signs of love, e.g., Handwritten notices, boards, individually prepared window displays, plants put out by the shop owners. There was a positive reaction to evidence of shops mixing happily with local residents, forming part of the overall community, providing for, rather than imposing upon, e.g., Few chain-brand shops or lowbranded environments; more shops set up by those who live there to meet needs of the community; a ‘healthy mix’ of products and foods for sale from different stores (not one superstore or one type of business), that reflect the demographic of that place. Housing close to commercial areas was seen as a positive sign of the community being involved in the streets. West Green Road and Church Street seen as most positive, with the community bleeding through.

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A sense of community can come through in the way products are displayed, e.g., The honesty of pound signs in Church Street Market, the ‘family-like’ display of shoes and jeans. Or the variety of shops. “The usual Holloway Road experience of kebab grease and neon signs” wasn’t seen as positive when that was the only type of shop on the street, but more easily swallowed when mixed with other types of shops.

“ The usual Holloway Road experience of greyness and neon signs.” Simon

Signboards on the street, produce outside the shop, a bench to sit, doors open. Bringing the shop out onto the street was seen as a welcoming, even trustworthy, and brings colour and rich detail to the environment. It gives a reason to browse.

“ They have some things outside it makes you go and see oh what are they showing. Like they have panels, or in another shop, the bread and cheese.” Marta

This is echoed by larger chains. Whilst the fruit in the market brings natural colour into the urban environment, the windows of Budgens use large pictures of fresh fruit and veg to entice customers and add a big swathe of colour to the street. Equally, the stall holders bring a human face to the street, as do the windows of Sainsburys with their oversize smiling portraits.

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Space

Common Feelings Holloway Road - Dull, boring, traffic-dominated Lack of community and ownership Low quality shops Poorly maintained + Diversity of population Churches

Church Street + Community and tradition Involving Serves the community Honest & real - Poor & depressed Dirty

Monmouth Street & Nealâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Yard + Plants and Seating Colourful walls and murals Elements of local history Mix of new and old - Can feel too forced: false identity Too impersonal Exclusivity

West Green Road + Fun and varied Vibrant, messy Mixed population Small scale and permeable - Functional Depressing Not cared for

Urban Lexicon

LEARNING FROM OUR SPACES GREENSPACE

Greenspace

“ My ideal garden. First of all it has to be clean. It has to have the right vibe, open, lots of grass, just well looked after. Not so enclosed so that it brings trouble.” Alex

In all the greenspaces visited, people looked for signs that made them feel safe. The preoccupation with a sense of security was far greater than in commercial spaces, almost as if the default was that greenspaces were dangerous places. Also important beyond this is being able to feel welcomed via evidence of a variety of activities being supported, which in turn are likely to attract a wide mix of users at different times of day. Our participants looked for signs of different uses from the green spaces: for relaxing, sport, walking the dog, as a space to escape, for children to play, for meeting friends, or simply sitting to read a book or have a bite to eat. The perceived characters of different greenspaces were very much influenced by the life and activities that were seen to be promoted there. Signage at park entrances highlighting what could be done was understandably read as far more welcoming than signs which greeted visitors with a list of prohibited activities and “no” symbols. Some participants even questioned whether signs insisting on no drugs, for example, actually meant there were problems with drug-taking at that location, and made them less confident, or less secure, about the space. Perimeter barriers and fencing were also highlighted repeatedly as features which appeared to make or break participants’ feelings of safety or fear in the place. In many cases, higher barriers and metal railings were seen to make people feel excluded or uninvited from the space. Several participants suggested low hedging as a more welcoming alternative which allowed for good sight lines into a park and was in keeping with the natural setting.

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Participants had a bucolic ideal in mind in many of the greenspaces. When very straight paths were encountered, for example, it was seen to make the environment feel less natural, more lifeless and less useable. Conversely, ‘ramshackle’ details provoked positive responses and added a sense of life to greenspaces.

“ I don’t want my pastoral idyll ruined by some bloody building with bars on the window.” Jon

Clearly there were expectations that greenspaces should also present opportunities to encounter a variety of nature and wildlife. Wide ranges of natural colour beyond the standard green, different plants, trees, birds, insects were seen as signs that the space was loved and so could be loved back.

“ It was really warm and cared for, but not too cared for. It had a really nice feeling, to do with it being a bit ramshackle.” Sam

Signs of life via evidence of community activity around the greenspaces, also formed an important part of the features noted during the workshops. These ranged from details such as composting areas, to notices about community-organised events; volunteer groups working on improving the place, community-painted walls and other evidence of responsibility being shared for the care of the space. Surprise features, hand-painted and hand-made elements within greenspaces proved important signs of love. The greenspaces most often viewed as neglected and under-used are consistently devoid of such personal touches and were seen as sterile.

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“ The flowers, the bright colours. It was a really nice space.” Simon

“ When people go to a park they want to carve out a little bit of space for themselves so they can chill out.” Jon

The proportions of the parks and gardens also impacts the sense of community and character that can be read in each place. While small scale ‘pockets’ of greenspace were appreciated and seen as important by some of the participants, preferences were regularly expressed of the desire for each person to be able to find their own personal space to occupy within a park or gardens. Where this proved difficult owing to the size of the place or the number of people, the scale was seen as problematic. For many it appears that signs of a safe greenspace can be determined by how easily a person can find space to use the place in whichever way they prefer – some seek space for tranquility, while others seek spaces for sport, but both look to be able to use the space without conflict.

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Space

Common Feelings Whittington Park + Engaged community Sense of improvement Diverse activities Low barriers Restrictive layout Broadley Street Gardens + Well looked after Peaceful Sitting & lying Restrictive layout

Phoenix Gardens + Ramshackle & charming Loved Engaged community Relaxing High fencing Tottenham Green + Open and accessible Noisy Public drinking Anonymous Lack of seating

Urban Lexicon

LEARNING FROM OUR SPACES

Residential

“ Character is added by the different colours to the doors and adding details in different ways... It expresses the character of the people who live in them. No two people are the same, which adds interest.” Luciano

Within residential spaces, people’s responses consistently came back to evidence of human activity; details that could combine to be interpreted as signs of life. In short, evidence of people equals positive and vibrant residential places, whereas no people equals negative and insecure spaces. Participants often looked for very personal signals and unravelled complex social codes through a single detail; a Greenpeace sticker suggesting a deadlocked resident with a long skirt and Doctor Martins; “No net curtains, meaning people are posh.”

Participants positively noted opportunities for residents to use shared spaces surrounding residential buildings. Common gardens, open areas, “ The pale green colour opportunities to play, to sit and even places for suggests it’s up-andcoming, and the blinds. people to work on their cars were seen as positive elements integrated within these environments. The middle classes are When residential streets offered little to encourage moving in.” people to use the public spaces beyond their front Kathy doors, responses were repeatedly more negative. Harsh divisions between public and private spaces were often seen to add feelings of hostility to an area. These instances were more closely associated to signs of fear within the area, and indicators that there may be issues with safety in the locality. Signs of individuality, well-maintained historical elements and unexpected features, – such as the quirky stockings shop among housing near Church Street —, were all seen as important to defining the character of a residential place. Furthermore, the care or maintenance required in presenting such characteristic features — be they flowers planted in the pavement, colourfully painted woodwork, or carefully organised storage seen through a windowwere often the clues that combined to define some Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

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of the signs of love identified. Opportunities for individual residents to contribute to the shared environments through such gestures of care, were also repeatedly appreciated in this way. Evidence of recently completed maintenance, pending improvements, and unique physical details in the street are all seen to help define character and show love for a residential place. Both local authority and individual initiative were seen as having a role to play in the sense of welcome emitted by residential areas – be that in terms of ‘human scale’ buildings and open and comprehensible street layouts; ‘cared for’ property entrances; informal posters announcing community events posted along a street.

“ I don’t think you’d have too many rocking parties, the neighbours would tell you off. You cant exactly have a BBQ outside. It feels so clean that you wouldn’t want to.” Tom

Sounds of life from houses and flats also encouraged a sense of feeling relaxed or secure; Cooking, family activity and of music coming from properties were all indications of an active and engaged street. Openness, easily perceptible spaces and cleanliness were all seen to provoke a sense of security so long as these are not to the exclusion of human presence of the space. Uncollected rubbish and littered streets were clearly identified as signs of neglect. A clean street was seen as more important in residential spaces than any other space type, almost a ‘not in my backyard’ attitude. However, at the other extreme, excessive maintenance, rigidly repetitive dwelling designs or ‘sterile environments’ were viewed as key factors influencing bland or lifeless areas, which seem stimulate feelings that you are not welcome.

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“ It didn’t feel like the area was helped because it wasn’t particularly clean. You think, the council aren’t really helping. You’re not going to look after the area if its just left to get grotty.” Simon

“ Look at that they’ve matched the door colour to the shutters and the flowers… amazing.” Tom “ It looks like a surveillance tower on a prison camp.” Kathy

Some controlled variation in materials and colour – such as on door fronts – was seen as respectful to the overall community, a sense of fitting in. Using low quality materials in new developments made to look like old, for example, was spotted as a fake contribution to a place’s identity. These cues inferred some neglect in the approach to new developments, or those that use them. Over-regulated or underconsidered, squared or strictly ‘modern’ shapes in buildings and layouts appear to provoke impressions of blandness in respect to residential spaces. ‘Service installations’ – such as cable boxes, aerials, posts, masts, poles, warning signs etc – were highlighted a number of times, as if they had been installed without respect or consideration of the locals, and in such cases constitute signs of neglect. Boarded-up buildings, windows and door-fronts are also seen as signs of decay or neglect. At times they also provoked associated impressions that the area is lifeless and feelings of uncertainty or fear about the place. Excessive signs that indicate authority control in the public environments – including prison-like fencing, CCTV cameras and ‘no games’ or unnecessary warning signage – were also noted to add to sensations that people should be wary about a residential area and that people’s individuality was not respected. In keeping with the desire to find evidence of people in residential spaces, cars are appreciated to some extent as signs of life. However, where they are allowed to become dominant they tend to be perceived more as a sign that people have been forgotten or excluded from the space, making them want to get out of there. Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

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LEARNING FROM OUR SPACES RESIDENTIAL

Space

Common Feelings Tavistock Terrace - Lack of people Too quiet + Beautiful Loved Full of character Clean

Edgeware Road Housing + Integrated with commercial Brightly coloured - Over-controlled Deprived

Coleville Place + Plants Colourful walls and murals Elements of local history Mix of new and old - Daily Mail readers Lack of trust

Hale Gardens + Life outside Individual care Music - Not cared for by the Council Oppressive features Unused greenspace

Urban Lexicon

LEARNING FROM OUR SPACES TRANSPORT

Transport

“ Its totally anonymous. It could be anywhere in the country.” Simon

Attitudes towards transport interchanges were overwhelmingly negative. Many of the spaces were seen as inhospitable, impersonal or incomprehensible. Understandably, given the nature of these locations in getting from one place to another, a large proportion of the reactions were centred around participants’ perceptions of orientation, place and direction. Importantly, the spaces outside and adjacent to the transport interchanges, were viewed as important in defining these factors, as the interiors of the stations themselves. The workshops revealed a recurring need for a sense of arriving at a place – character – both within and beyond a station’s boundaries. In part, this was seen to be defined via unique combinations of details and signs of life specific to the area; a sense of locality. These included physical elements such as clear lines of sight toward and away from the station, but also architectural details that go beyond pure function but show some love for the place itself. A selection of independent commercial venues such as fruit stalls, flower stalls and coffee shops at station exits, were seen to help welcome people to the area and get a grasp on where they were. The visual presence of ‘homogenized’ designs, brands and venues on the Transport-Commercial frontiers, augment impressions of blandness. It seems important to locate locally distinctive features in close proximity to each hub.

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LEARNING FROM OUR SPACES TRANSPORT

The presence of people in adjacent spaces helps boost perceptions of security, up to a point. When densities of people increase to the point where ‘personal space’ begins to be restricted or invaded, the effect of the presence of people seems reversed. Accordingly, people gain a greater sense of confidence about a transport interchange when they can find a space to orientate themselves and visually take stock of where they are, in their own time. This helps with perceptions of welcome as well as security. Conversely, spaces and details which force people tight together and route them in a directions they don’t necessarily want to go, can have the opposite impact. They were found to increase tension among these environments, already full of people wanting to get quickly from A to B. Opportunities to find personal space alleviated people’s disturbance in the face of intense flows of noise, vehicle traffic or densities of people. In turn, that allowed a greater sense of personal safety. Signage is essential in transport spaces. Significantly, signs and cues connecting transport hubs to unique features of the area were considered important in indicating the life and character of a place – e.g., the sign to Lee Valley Walk or seeing the red tiles of the building opposite upon exiting Edgeware Road. Dominant roadworks and intense noise upon exiting a station were seen as disorientating and inconsiderate, and thought of as signs of neglect towards the users of the transport hubs. In general, details that increased a sense of chaos around a station, tended to also increase uncertainty or insecurity about a place. Participants repeatedly looked out for evidence of maintenance and signs of improvement, as features 222

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“ Noisy. Traffic. Noise. Speed. Le Man’s. Horrible!” Luciano

“ I immediately thought it was colourful. The station was trying to convey a feel of friendliness.” Steve

that imply a level of ‘corporate care’ towards the travellers, or signs of love. Where they were missing, e.g., the fast food litter and unrenovated buildings on the exit from Archway station, these show a distinct lack of love –neglect– and generate feelings of hostility and exclusion from the space. New technologies, such as electronic displays and cameras, were not seen as integrated into their transport environments as sympathetically as older installations – e.g., clocks and lighting at Edgeware Road – love – but rather ‘plonked’ into the space – neglect. The dominant presence of CCTV was often interpreted as implying a lack of security within a station. The scale of some station buildings and those around them was seen as impersonal, and in some cases ‘over-designed’ or ‘hostile’ without much consideration for the people using that area – e.g., Archway and Tottenham Hale. There was little provision for people to step back and comprehend the transport spaces, let alone enjoy them – neglect and exclusion. The use of greys, beiges and neutral tones, which ‘hide’ the dirt, was not appreciated in the transport environments, but instances of transparent materials were seen to add safety as they helped orientation and visibility. The use of coloured or textured ceramics also express care or love in the place. The discovery of ‘surprise elements’ in the connecting spaces between interchanges were received very positively. Artworks, interesting lighting, sculptural road forms and even subway gallery space, were seen as signs of love and character in what are essentially functional transport spaces. Unravelling the Urban Lexicons

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Space

Common Feelings Archway Station and Interchange - Dull, boring, traffic-dominated Anonymous, no sense of place Overpowered by concrete Litter Dark and uninviting + Small shops and cafes Space to orientate yourself

Edgeware Road Stations & Marleybone Road Flyover + Epic urban scale Subterranean gallery Heritage features - Noise

Tottenham Court Road + Fountain - Chaotic Noisy Tacky

Tottenham Hale Station + Open, glass wall Waiting room - Grotty Anonymous, no sense of place Confusing

Urban Lexicon

Appendix Briefing tools

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Maps & Response Forms

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Further information

246

About the authors

246

Acknowledgements

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Briefing tools

DETAIL DETECTIVES Unravelling the Urban Lexicon Rosanna Vitiello & Marcus Willcocks A Bright Sparks funded research project

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Detail Detectives | Unravelling the Urban Lexicon

DETAILS AND THE URBAN LEXICON

When you first come across a new place in London, you often get a gut reaction as to whether you like it or not. That’s the city ‘speaking’ to you, and you understanding the city around you; an urban lexicon or language. We believe this communication between people and the city is down to the details; a freshly painted door, a graffiti tag, the smell of cut grass or spilt petrol, the feel of broken glass or cobbles underfoot. Details can be seen, and to a lesser extent heard, smelt and touched. Maybe its easier to show you what we mean by ‘details’ and the images below give you some examples. You can see more at our project blog: http://urbanlexicon.blogspot.com/2008/04/image-cloud.html

CITY CLUES TO AN URBAN LEXICON

Details act like clues left around our environment. We interpret those clues and understand the places that surround us through them. It’s like reading the city, or its lexicon, with the clues building up a story in our heads of the place. They hint to activities that might have happened there, or might be about to happen. They help us to work out whether we want to stick around or get straight out of there. We’re running street workshops called ‘Detail Detectives’ over the next week to find out more about these details.

EMOTIONAL CITIES

Some places immediately make you feel good and want to stay there longer, whilst others make you want to get out of there straight away. We’d like to know what your instinctive reaction is to a place, then will help you breakdown how details you’ve seen, heard, smelt or touched might have encouraged that feeling. + When you have a positive reaction to a place, it might make you feel: Excitement / Calm / Curious / Energetic/ Comfortable / Amused / Clear-headed / Delighted / At ease / Energized / Empowered / Focused / Loved / Respectful / Proud / Close / Patient / Content / Thrilled / Surprised / Warmed / etc … - When you have a negative reaction to a place, it might make you feel: Scared / Disgusted / Nervous / Frustrated / Bored / Confused / Lacking control / Threatened / Hurried / Angry / Unwelcome / Ashamed / Disappointed / Apathetic / Distant / Stressed / Sluggish / Dullness / etc …

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Detail Detectives | Unravelling the Urban Lexicon

WHAT

With this project we’re attempting to unravel how details in an urban environment affect the way you feel about a place, and which details might trigger certain emotional reactions. We’d like to know what your instinctive reaction is to a place, then will help you breakdown how details you’ve seen, heard, smelt or touched might have encouraged that feeling. We’re trying to piece together those clues and see how they combine to create an ‘urban lexicon’ or a language of the city.

WHY

We believe that details, although small, could have a big impact on how people feel about a place, and that this will ultimately affect how a place is used. If we can understand how they affect us, details could be managed in ways that transform an inhospitable place into somewhere lively and well-loved.

WHEN

The street workshops, ‘Detail Detectives’ will run on Friday 2nd, Sat 3rd, Sun 4th and Thursday 8th May. We suggest allowing two half days or one full day. Let us know when suits you best during those times and how long you’re able to spend with us, and we’ll aim to tailor the workshops to suit you. We’ll be in contact via email to confirm where and when to meet.

HOW

We’ll be visiting four diverse areas of London with you where you’ll play the role of ‘Detail Detectives’. We’ll give you a Detectives Investigation pack, a trail to follow and a digital camera to document the details you find. Once you’ve finished the tour, we’ll talk to you to work out what you felt and what details might have affected that. We'll cover travel expesnses, food and drink for refueling and pass you a small fee for your commitment. The results will form a series of visual stories documenting your journey, published and distributed on the project website and as part of the Bright Sparks seminar on public art and public space research in September.

WHERE

We’re visiting boroughs across north east, north, west and central London. We’ll meet in a central location and travel together to our destination, when you’ll find out where we’re going, as we’d like to keep an element of the place being unknown.

WHO

Marcus Willcocks and Rosanna Vitiello will be taking you on the street workshops. They are designers and experts in how people use public spaces and work internationally, There will be anything between two and six people taking part at one time. If you want to know more or would like to take part please get in touch with us on 07966 505673 or at rosvit@yahoo.co.uk by Thursday 1st May, and we can work out which days suit you best. You can see more about the project at http://urbanlexicon.blogspot.com To find out more about the project’s sponsors and where the final work will be showcased, go to: www.gunpowderpark.org/brightsparks

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Workshop Maps & Response Forms

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pp ro H al l A ac h

SHOPPING CENTRE

Anti ll Rd

Spr ing fiel d

Tyn em out h

Tottenham Hale Station

An till Rd

Talb ot Rd

H ig h

Ro ad

Tyn em out h

Ferry Lane

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Bro ad Lan e

To w n

Tottenham Green

Th Ha e le

Hale Gardens M on tag

le R oa

Sta tion Rd

High Cross Road

Wa te

Ha um Mon

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Wa y

High Roa d

TOTTENHAM

W Green Road Shops

B ro a

WG re en

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Seven Sisters Station

YOUR INSTINCT Initial feelings towards this place?

POSITIVE DETAILS What makes you feel good about it?

NEGATIVE DETAILS What makes you feel bad about it?

Hale Gardens

Tottenham Hale Station

Tottenham Green

West Green Road Shops

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Further information The project web site contains more research material, interview transcripts, maps and background information www.urbanlexicons.com The project blog tracks the setting up process of ideas, inspiration and experimentation http://urbanlexicon.blogspot.com

About the authors Rosanna and Marcus are both trained designers who cross traditional disciplinary boundaries to focus on design in the public realm. Rosanna, based in New York, brings experience in strategy and communication, while Marcus, based in Barcelona and London, specializes in user-centred and socially-centred design. Both share an interest in uniting expertise from commercial design experience to engage in innovative ways with issues of public space and daily life. They work with designers and architects as well as local authorities, social scientists, anthropologists, academics and real people to explore this field. urbanlexicon@googlemail.com rosvit@yahoo.co.uk willcocks@mac.com 236

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Acknowledgements This project could not have existed and developed without the contributions of: Project advisors and consultants Bright Sparks/ Gunpowder Park team plus mentor Andre Dekker Calum Storrie – Author/ artist and writer on situationism. Prof. Lorraine Gamman – Director Design Against Crime Research Centre Joyce Rosser – Tottenham Residents Association David Cottridge – Photographer Johanna Reich – Video artist Saga Arpino – 3D installation artist Chris Leung – Architect/ UCL doctorate responsive architecture, behaviour measurement Luciano Vitiello – Architect Workshop participants Charlotte Perla Simon Jon Caroline Steve Mark Sam Stefan Kathy Luciano Adrian Alex Marta Andi

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